"Database for your Collection?" Topic

If you wanted to create a small database to keep track of your miniatures, how would you do it? What product would you use?

I was thinking that Google Docs would be a good solution, but they don't seem to have a database option…

I just type it out on Word with unit and figure tally. At least copying changing and moving them around is fairly easy.

MS Excel works for me. I even use it to track the growing horde of both painted (and wargamer's bliss) of unpainted inventory.

WR

Excel does the job.

Edit: Not a searchable database but flexible enough for my needs.

Does excel have a search function? I would think that you would want to search by various criteria; scale,period,painted/unpainted, manufacturer….

There was a database program that came with my Gateway back in '95 but that's long gone.

Excel has a search function and a filter function and can work well as a database (I used to use it at work before we converted to MS Access (don't go there!)).

Having said this I use a word processor file for each period.

I use Excel. You can search and filter (sort). Plenty flexible. Used Access at work and tried it for my miniatures. Agree with John A, don't go there.

Al

Excel, saved in my Dropbox account so I can easily access it from my iPhone.

I have an inventory on Excel. I include what I have, how many, painted or not and also what I need. That way I can print off a few sheets before going to a con for some shopping.

Excel

Why would I want a database? Knowing it all would frighten me!

Funny John!!

Another vote for Excel.

Excel. Each nationality (for Napoleonics) or period (for everything else) on separate tabs.

Rick

Heresy, I say.

Then the wife would also know what I have. Thereby limiting my purchasing power.

Excel, unless I felt extraordinarily geeky, in which case Access.

Doug

I use Excel – I like to do one worksheet per period

Then List types of units with columns for different scenario requirements and then the dreaded totals of how many I have, need, painted, unpainted and need to purchase

It allows me to help plan and somewhat limit my purchases for those scenarios I enjoy

Happy to share a sample if you want

Excel is pretty good. I use it in my job for creating data-sets. I then port them to statistical programs (R , STATA, SPSS)for the number crunching. But Excel is a nice simple and easy to use data-set program. You can even do some basic stats with it.

That said my collection is on purpose small, so I am fine by memory.

I use Visual Basic and SQL Server, but it's a fairly large toy soldier database (approaching 4000 entries). I can find a certain tank or figure, a picture of it, where and when I got it, the box it's in, etc.

Probably overkill for a small miniatures db.

Another vote for Excel.

I did a complete inventory of my wargaming stuff using Excel a couple of years ago. Works great.

I keep my book inventory in MS Access, all my other inventories I do in Excel.

Filemaker Pro works for me.

And keep copies saved in CSV (comma-separated values) and/or tab-delimited text files so you can open them in other programs if it becomes necessary. My database started back on a DOS-based green-screen machine in Kman (Knowledge Manager) and was ported into Microsoft Works and later Filemaker.

I use paper and pencil. I love being "old school" while living in the Bay area.

Lotus 123 and Excel, depends which computer I am on.

For 15mm, with tabs I have a base sheet with manufacturer, figure code, description, and number on one tab and then a second tab for DBM Armies that I could make. Will probably add a tab for DBA armies and another for painting status.

For 1/285 and 1/2400 it is just a tab for each manufacturer listing codes, descriptions, and numbers broken by nationality.

Might end up doing a real database in paradox or one of the other packages someday.

P.S. Got Lotus cheap a few years ago. Excel came on my Windows 7 laptop as 'Starter Edition' instead of the MS Works spreadsheet that used to come with Windows machines. I have used the Works version on older machines.

P.P.S. If you don't have access to MS Works and its spreadsheet, there is also Openoffice which is a free office suite which was based on the old Wordperfect office software suite. Haven't tried it lately, but liked it better than MS Office back in the day.

Did it in Lotus 1-2-3 back in the day (when I thought Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect were the cat's meow) but I lost all my software and archives in a storm. I now use Excel and e-mail my updates to myself!

Another vote for MS Excel, and you can always import an excel spreadsheet into MS Access (DB).

Excell – my collection isn't big enough to warrant wading through Access.

I use Excel to track painted and unpainted figures by period. Works great with an iPad at conventions to keep track of what I want to buy.

I would use Excel if I were to even attempt this. I would probably be dead by the time it got done…

If you want to save money for buying figures, OpenOffice Calc is Excel without the $400 USD price tag.

I use FileMaker Pro on my Mac. I have one layout for data entry with lots of look up functions so I don't have to type the same thing over and over like who painted it, what weapons they have, troop type, what bases they are mounted on, whatever I want to know. I can also have different layouts for creating troop rosters for games. Or for quick views. very effective system.

I've been working on a similar project, started with excel, then google docs so it could be easily shared. Then I got to thinking I really wanted something portable (ie accessible one iPhone / iPad) complete with photos. Settled on Bento which is FileMaker lite. I'll post some links and the like shortly.

I started out with Access for a paint inventory, but when I lost that DB with a hard drive crash I went to Excel. Save it on my Google Drive and can look at any of the them on any of my devices.

Besides paint, I only do my small scale stuff, spaceships, 2400 naval, micro armor. I plan on creating one for my 15mm Sci Fi later this year( I figure the ooooh shiny will have hit me by then).

Why would you want to do that? It eliminates the thrill of rediscovery,and the chance to say-"I didnt know I had these!" after looking through boxes.

My database started out ambitiously, and has had new fields added over the years. In addition to the manufacturer, code, line and title, I have fields for the weapons carried, armor worn, the pose, the race, the class, a description and notes. So if I wanted to find some mounted elf archers I would search for weapon: bow, race: elf, and pose: mounted.

As computing has advanced to the present capabilities, I have toyed with the idea of including a photo (the lack of which was why the description was originally included). But that would make the file size much bigger than it is now, and the task of photographing thousands of miniatures is, to say the least, daunting.

@Ditto TwoThree: All my databases are saved in multiple formats and backed up off the HD. I haven't had to recreate any of them in all these years. Maybe some tweaking, but the essential data is there. And I also often find myself playing with formatting and layout instead of actually entering new data.

TL;DR- Move along, there's nothing to see here. Come back when you get an attention span.

I agree with OFM why!

You may figure out how much you have spent(£/$) and the time you have put in painting and basing.

You may find it a bit depressing.

And how much time are you wasting raising a database!

Instead you are better of spending your time paining, basing and wargaming!

DATABASE!? BAH! HUMBUG!

My basement is lined with bookcases with triple the number of shelves in them to house my collection, a whole wall of them. When I come down the stairs , like a mother hen with her chicks I KNOW if a stand is missing or out of place. I get that feeling that "there's something just-- not-- right--" I'll look around and find it misplaced or on my table but I don't need a database to keep track of them Like the Lord, " I know my sheep and they know my voice."

The unpainted lead is different. That is packed away and sometimes I do forget what I have and so I occasionally buy something at a convention I already had. But -- there's no problem with that-- too much is never enough.

@StarfuryXL5

My database has almost 4000 entries and 640x480 pictures and runs about 350 mb (pictures are saved in the database itself). With the transaction files, etc., it's still < 1 gb. Sounds like a lot, but not in this day and age when a $5 USD USB fob holds 8 gb.

@Mac1638

And how much time are you wasting raising a database!

You'd be pleasantly surprised. It becomes a new aspect to the hobby. I get to spend time with my collection at weird times… in front of the tv, waiting for car repair, in a hotel room, etc. It's turns out to be a lot of fun.

I have been tracking my painted miniatures in MS Access since 1995. Works for me.

@ArmymenRGreat

I checked my file, which I haven't worked on in quite a while. With over 2000 entries, it's 1.1 MB, a mere drop in the bucket. There was a time I couldn't back it up because it wouldn't fit on a floppy drive, but as you say, storage is not really a problem these days. Now to get however many thousand photos.

I created data entry sheets for the database, so I can record the pertinent information even when I'm not near the computer (sadly, I only have a desktop unit). That also makes it easier to enter in the database when I get to the computer, too, since all the decisions have already been made.

@Ditto Two Three

External hard drive and CDs for me. Stick would be an option, but I still can't bring myself to trust the cloud.